DETAILED ACTION
In the Final Rejection mailed 6/9/2025:
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 11, and 13-20 were cancelled.
Claims 6, 9-10, and 12 were rejected.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 11/25/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment to the claims filed 11/25/2025 has been entered:
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 11, and 13-20 are cancelled.
Claims 6, 9-10, and 12 are active.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 6, 9-10, and 12 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 6 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 6, the word “said” or “the” should be inserted before the word “flange” in line 15.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim(s) 6, 9-10, and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 6, the term “fully” in line 10 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “fully” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. It is unclear to what degree the sleeve nut is required to be threaded onto the sleeve thread in order to satisfy the limitation that the sleeve nut is “fully threaded” onto the sleeve thread, as claimed.
Claims 9-10 and 12 are rejected for depending from an indefinite claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 6 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tertin (US 2016/0209144), herein ‘Tertin’, and further in view of Johnson (US 2013/0247439), herein ‘Johnson’.
Regarding claim 6, Tertin discloses a firearm barrel assembly (Fig. 1) comprising:
an inner firearm barrel (12) having an entrance end (36) and an exit end (38), said inner firearm barrel having a sleeve thread (42) located on said exit end of said inner firearm barrel (Fig. 2; par. 45);
an outer sleeve (14) secured around said inner firearm barrel (Fig. 1);
an air gap (87; par. 48 and 55) formed between said inner firearm barrel and said outer sleeve (Fig. 1; par. 48 and 55); and
a sleeve nut (18) having a threaded bore (54, 60) and a flange (44, 52) having an edge formed internally of said sleeve nut (Fig. 4; the edge being defined, for example, by one or more of blind bores 62), said sleeve nut threaded onto the sleeve thread of said inner firearm barrel to secure said outer sleeve in place on said inner firearm barrel (par. 54),
a gap formed between said exit end and said edge of said sleeve nut when said sleeve nut is threaded onto said sleeve thread (Fig. 1),
wherein tightening said sleeve nut is not limited by a discontinuation of said sleeve thread on said inner firearm barrel and allows for said flange to abut said outer sleeve (par. 54: “engaging the thread 42 on the outer surface of the barrel liner muzzle end portion 38 with the thread 60 on the inner surface of the muzzle cap through bore 54 and rotating the muzzle cap 18 relative to the barrel liner 12 until the muzzle end 30 of the barrel tube 14 abuts the rear shoulder 52 of the muzzle cap 18”), thereby tensioning said inner firearm barrel (par. 54-55);
wherein said sleeve thread comprising a first length (Figs. 1-2) and said threaded bore comprising a second length (Figs. 1 and 4).
Tertin does not expressly teach wherein said sleeve thread and said threaded bore engage along a third length shorter than said first length when said flange abuts said outer sleeve.
Johnson teaches a firearm barrel (2) comprising an inner barrel (30) surrounded by an outer sleeve (21) and attached thereto by a sleeve nut (60; Figs. 1 and 4; par. 25), wherein sleeve thread of the inner barrel comprises a first length (Fig. 4), wherein a threaded bore of the sleeve nut comprises a second length (Fig. 4), and wherein said sleeve thread and said threaded bore engage along a third length shorter than said first length when said flange abuts said outer sleeve (Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the sleeve thread and the threaded bore of Tertin to engage along a third length which is shorter than the first length when said flange abuts said outer sleeve as taught by Johnson with a reasonable expectation of success in order provide a portion of the sleeve thread that extends past the sleeve nut to enable the attachment of a compensator device, which provides the benefit of redirecting propellant gases exiting the muzzle end of the barrel with the effect of countering both recoil of the weapon and unwanted elevation of the barrel during operation (Johnson; par. 27).
Regarding claim 10, Johnson, as applied above, discloses wherein said sleeve thread extends past said outer sleeve when said inner firearm barrel is tensioned (Figs. 1 and 4; par. 25).
Claim(s) 9 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tertin (US 2016/0209144) in view of Johnson (US 2013/0247439) as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Koon (US 5753846), herein ‘Koon’.
Regarding claim 9, the modified Tertin does not expressly teach wherein said sleeve nut further comprises a gun barrel accessory.
Koon teaches a firearm barrel assembly (Fig. 3) comprising an inner firearm barrel (28), an outer sleeve (24), an air gap (42) between the inner firearm barrel and the outer sleeve (Fig. 3), and a sleeve nut (56-58; Fig. 4) threaded onto the inner firearm barrel (col. 3 lines 8-11) to secure the outer sleeve in place on the inner firearm barrel (col. 3 lines 43-46), the sleeve nut further comprising a gun barrel accessory (44-48, 62; Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the sleeve nut of the modified Tertin to further comprise a gun barrel accessory as taught by Koon with a reasonable expectation of success in order to reduce recoil and increase weapon accuracy (Koon; col. 3 line 62 – col. 4 line 6).
Regarding claim 12, the modified Tertin does not expressly teach openings in said outer sleeve.
Koon teaches a firearm barrel assembly (Fig. 3) comprising an inner firearm barrel (28), an outer sleeve (24), an air gap (42) between the inner firearm barrel and the outer sleeve (Fig. 3), and a sleeve nut (56-58; Fig. 4) threaded onto the inner firearm barrel (col. 3 lines 8-11) to secure the outer sleeve in place on the inner firearm barrel (col. 3 lines 43-46), the outer sleeve including openings (26) therein.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the outer sleeve of the modified Tertin to include openings as taught by Koon with a reasonable expectation of success in order to allow gases to be dissipated and pass exteriorly of the weapon (Koon; col. 2 lines 3-4).
Conclusion
Claims 1-5, 7-8, 11, and 13-20 are cancelled. Claims 6, 9-10, and 12 are rejected.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN S GOMBERG whose telephone number is (571)272-4802. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
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/Troy Chambers/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3641
/BENJAMIN S. GOMBERG/
Examiner
Art Unit 3641